NATURE AND WILDLIFE TOUR (21 NIGHTS) ENGLISH Great days

Day notes

Welcome to New Zealand!

After picking up your rental car, you can embark on a tour through New Zealand's 'Garden City', as Christchurch is also fondly called.

The famous Hagley Park invites you to take a walk or let you swing leisurely over the Avon River. Another attraction is the International Antarctic Centre near the airport.

We also recommend an exceptional dinner at the "Tramway Restaurant" on the train.

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The drive takes us over the mountains of the crater rim of the "Banks Peninsula" to Akaroa. Despite British sailors who proclaimed British sovereignty for the South Island in Akaroa in 1840, it was the French settlers who established a kind of colony here. Even today, one discovers the French influence in the area, which can be found mainly in geographical names.

There is a special feature in Akaroa Bay: Hector's dolphins live there, a rare species that only occurs here. A nature reserve has been set up on the coast especially for these sea dwellers so that the dolphins are not injured by fishing nets. In the afternoon, you will go on a boat trip where you will have a closer look at the dolphins.

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You will pass through the Banks Peninsula, wine-growing areas and the fertile Canterbury Plain, characterised by agriculture and cattle farming. You cross the Rakaia River, known for huge salmon, and continue south to Oamaru.

A colony of native Little Blue Penguins has settled at the harbour. Every evening before dusk, the animals come back ashore. From a grandstand you can watch hundreds (seasonal) of penguins from a few metres away as they waddle out of the sea to their nesting sites on land - a very amusing spectacle!

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You continue to follow the Pacific coast southwards. The small settlement of Moeraki invites you to take a break off the main route. Here, the mysterious stone balls of the 'Moeraki Boulders' lie on the beach and continue to fascinate visitors. Continuing along the coast, you reach the capital of the Otago Province, Dunedin, founded by the Scots.

Dunedin is home to rare wildlife.

Optional afternoon Monarch Wildlife Cruise offers a unique perspective from the sea.

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A visit to Larnach's Castle, New Zealand's only castle, is also an important and popular piece of Dunedin's history and well worth a visit.

In the afternoon you will visit the wildlife hotspots of the Otago Peninsula on a Standard Peninsula Encounter Tour by Elm Wildlife Tours. On the bus tour with a naturalist guide you will discover Hooker sea lions, yellow-eyed penguins, blue penguins, New Zealand fur seals and many different species of seabirds, such as albatrosses.

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We first pass through the rarely visited area of the 'Catlins', a wild and rugged stretch of coastline remote from civilisation. Here there are numerous sea bears and sea lions, which you may be lucky enough to see. You reach the small town of Bluff, popular with gourmets for its excellent oyster farming. Here at the southern end of the South Island you board a comfortable catamaran and cross the Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island.

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After breakfast, you will set off on a natural history excursion. This time the tour takes you by boat to a small island off the coast: "Ulva Island".
This island is considered a first-class bird reserve where you can study the endemic birds of New Zealand in a natural environment. No telephoto lens is needed to photograph the native forest birds such as tui, bellbird, weka, kereru and kakariki - they are so not shy. The primary forest, dominated by rimu, miro, totara and rata, is also virtually untouched and free of introduced predators.

An accompanying local guide will give you a first-hand account of New Zealand's rainforest and the special features of the flora and fauna on Stewart Island.

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After a 1-hour catamaran ride, you return to the mainland. Along a scenic side route with remote bays, you pass the nice town of Riverton, situated on a lagoon, with pretty cafés and galleries. You follow the windswept, lonely coastline north, surrounded by forested mountains. At Clifton you can visit the beautiful historic suspension bridge built in 1899. You continue on scenic road 99 through farmland filled with herds of deer, cattle and sheep to Te Anau, the gateway to Fiordland National Park.

In the afternoon we recommend a visit to the Glowworm Cave or a walk along the lake.

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Doubtful Sound is a real insider tip, as it is not directly accessible by car like Milford Sound. It can be reached by boat from Manapouri via the glacier lake of the same name. You can reach Doubtful Sound by bus via the 670 m high, steep Wilmot Pass. This pass was only cut into the rock to build the power station at Lake Manapouri. You will explore this pass by kayak.

Surrounded by steep mountains, lush green vegetation and a spectacular play of colours, you will get to know the flora and fauna of the fjord country. Bottlenose dolphins are often seen. Seals are numerous on isolated rock formations. Muttonbird, Bellbird, Tui, Shearwater and native Wood Pigeons can be spotted along the way.

Here you can fully surrender to the feeling of untouched wilderness.

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You cross the vast plains of Southland, known for deer farming. You pass vast pastures full of sheep and cattle feed crops, but also native, rare tussock grass. The journey continues along Lake Wakatipu to Queenstown. Due to its beautiful mountain location on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, the small holiday resort of Queenstown has developed into the popular tourist centre of the South Island. The elongated lake stretches between steeply rising mountain ranges.

Queenstown is one of New Zealand's most exciting destinations and therefore offers plenty of attractions. Explore wineries, spectacular filming locations, adventure activities or pamper yourself with a trip to a spa.

We recommend a gondola ride with Skyline, where you'll enjoy amazing views. 

Experience a scenic cruise across Lake Wakatipu aboard the TSS Earnslaw, a century-old coal-fired steamship.

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The drive continues through Otago's main wine and stone fruit growing area and along the glacier lakes of Wanaka and Hawea. You drive through the mountains of the Aspiring National Park and reach the Haast Pass a little later, crossing the climate and watershed of the Southern Alps. Along the west coast you drive through evergreen rainforest to the glacier region.

Above the snowline, large masses of ice accumulate to form fast-flowing valley glaciers. The Fox Glacier and the Franz Josef Glacier slide down to a height of 300 m above sea level - unique in temperate latitudes.

Take a spectacular flight over the glaciers (optional).

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You continue along the west coast and drive through historic gold mining areas.

The West Coast is also known for its jade and greenstone deposits. In Hokitika, this precious rock is processed into beautiful jewellery. Here you have the opportunity to hike in the coastal rainforest.

The journey continues to Greymouth. Greymouth's past bears witness to gold fever and the forces of nature.

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From Greymouth, take a little-used road to Reefton, a former gold-mining town where coal is still mined today. At Lewis Pass you can study flora and fauna on a 'Nature Trail'. The journey continues through native southern beech forest surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

Definitely worthwhile is the short detour to the spa town of Hanmer Springs, where you can relax in the open-air thermal baths (optional). Continue your journey through fertile hilly farmland and then along the Pacific Ocean to Kaikoura.

Huge sperm whales regularly occur off Kaikoura's coast, as they use the deep waters offshore on their passage to/from Antarctica, and warm ocean currents provide rich food sources. If you are lucky, you can watch hector or dusky dolphins from the shore as they shoot elegantly and acrobatically out of the water. With a seal colony nearby, New Zealand fur seals can also be spotted in the water and lying on the rocky shore. Seabirds of all kinds (sometimes even the majestic albatrosses) visit the often rugged Kaikoura coastline, gliding effortlessly through the skies.

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In the morning, a very special adventure is on the programme. You will go out on a boat under expert guidance to get closer to the whales. They regularly occur here, especially the giant sperm whales.

Then continue through Blenheim on the Marlborough Plain. Viticulture in this region began in the 1970s. The composition of the soil, high sunshine duration, a long autumn and cold winter seemed to be the best prerequisites for a first-class wine.

You reach Picton. The small harbour town is not only the centre for excursions into the world of deserted bays and waterways framed by deep green forest, but also the port for the ferry to the North Island.

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The journey on the Interislander ferry is very impressive and offers many beautiful photo motifs. First you glide through the Marlborough Sounds, an area of "drowned" valleys created by the geological subsidence of a low mountain range. Steep ridges still bear witness to the original mountain range, which today jut out as narrow peninsulas between deep inlets. The steep banks have a fjord-like character in places. Salmon and mussels are farmed in the sounds - next to wine production, the most important industry in the region. You will then pass through the Cook Waterway, which separates the North Island from the South Island, and reach the port of Wellington.

In the late afternoon, you will drive along the Kapiti Coast and stay overnight in Waikanae, a small town north of Wellington.

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This morning you board a boat in Paraparaumu to the strictly protected and mammal-free Kapiti Island. Here you have a permit from the nature conservation authority to explore the island on a natural history walk. Special features of this island include the numerous forest parrots (kaka) and the takahe, which is almost no longer found on the mainland, the kokako and other endemic birds. If the weather is good, you can see as far as the South Island from the island's lookout point.

The drive heads north from the Kapiti Coast through fertile farmland into the volcanic centre of the North Island. Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand and of volcanic origin. The wise foresight of Maori chief Te Heuheu Tukino laid the foundation for the establishment of the fourth oldest national park in the world. Tongariro National Park is defined by three sister volcanoes, of which Mt Ruapehu (2796 m) is the highest and most active.

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In the early morning you have the opportunity to do the "Tongariro Crossing" hike. You climb the impressive volcanic massif on a trail that has become one of the most popular hiking trails due to the constantly changing, partly moon-like landscape and the spectacular views. You look from Mt. Tongariro (1967 m) to the sister volcanoes Mt. Ngauruhoe (2291 m) and Mt. Ruapehu (2796 m). You will cross several craters, pass fumaroles and hot springs and admire the bright turquoise "Emerald Lakes". The strenuous alpine traverse opens up almost all vegetation forms of the national park. Solidified lava flows and bizarre rock forms convey a feeling of "moonscape", while minerals colour the crater lakes garishly.

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Today you have another opportunity for a natural history hike and circle the beautiful Lake Rotopounamu at the foot of the Tongariro volcano. Then you will pass Lake Taupo. Stop at the famous Huka Waterfall.

Continue to Rotorua. Rotorua is famous for its many hot springs, geysers and mud volcanoes. The city is also the centre of Maori culture. We recommend a visit to Tamaki Village.  There you will learn honoured traditions, stories, songs and performing arts of the ancient times, which are still widespread among the Māori today.

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Along the Bay of Plenty, past the harbour town of Tauranga with the striking volcanic cone of Mount Maunganui and the gold-mining town of Waihi, you will reach Tairua on the Coromandel Peninsula.

If you have some time, visit the city centre of Tauranga, which has several historically significant areas that can be explored on a delightful walk.

The laid-back beach town of Mount Maunganui sits on a peninsula by Tauranga Harbour and actually has a huge white sandbank.

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Today is dedicated to the east coast and its diverse beaches. Highlights include Cathedral Cove, Hahei Marine Reserve and Hot Water Beach, where you can dig your own spa pool right on the beach (tide dependent).

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You leave the Coromandel Peninsula and head north to Auckland. During the drive to your hotel you will get acquainted with the "City of Sails", as Auckland is also called.

You can drive up the extinct volcanic cone of Mount Eden, from where you have a beautiful view over the city, or drive to the elegant suburb of "Parnell" and on to Auckland Harbour. Here you will visit the Sea Life Aquarium, where you will learn a lot about New Zealand's underwater creatures.

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Your New Zealand tour ends today. You drive to the airport and return the rental car to the car rental agency.

We wish you a pleasant onward or homeward flight.